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ASUS makes a lot of laptops but my personal favourite (I bought myself a VX6 last November) is the VX Lamborghini Series. So of course I was pretty excited to get a chance to have some hands-on time with the latest addition to the series, the ASUS Lamborghini VX7Sx.
The VX7Sx is a totally different beast than my Intel Atom platform VX6. This latest model is a 15.6-inch multimedia monster with a quad-core Intel Core i7-2760QM processor and specs that make gaming notebooks blush.
The Lamborghini VX7Sx features a quad-core second generation Intel processor
To start with, the VX7 has a massive 16GB of DDR3 memory (around 4x what you find in the average notebook), two 750GB 7,200rpm hard drives that combine for 1.5TB of storage capacity, and gaming graphics courtesy of an NVIDIA GTX 560M GPU with 3x the normal video memory – 3GB in total.
It doesn’t end there though, the VX7Sx has a ton of nice extras like Windows 7 Ultimate, a Blu-ray drive that’s perfect for movie night, and a high resolution 2 megapixel webcam.
The VX7 is finished in high gloss Carbon Fibre
The real story with the ASUS Lamborghini series has never been specs alone though. What is exciting about the VX7Sx is all the detail that goes into making this one of the most exclusive notebooks on the market.
The most obvious visual add-ons are Lamborghini Murcielago-inspired rear lights and exhaust vents and a high gloss Carbon Fibre lid that reminds me a lot of the hood of the Italian Supercar the VX7 takes its name from.
The traditional power button gets replaced by a "Start Engine" button that gets things going
But my favourite add-ons in this case are found under the lid. The coolest touch in my opinion is the replacement of the traditional power button with a ‘Start Engine’ button that triggers the Lamborghini engine noise that I’ve come to love from the VX series.
Inside is a trapezoidal glass mouse pad, backlit keyboard, and leather palm rest
I’m also in love with the soft leather palm rest and trapezoidal glass touch pad – both welcome improvements over the typical plastic. The keyboard too is not only chiclet style but also backlit so it’s easy to find the right keys in the dark.
Included free with the VX7 is a Lamborghini carry case that usually retails for $129
When you buy the VX7 you’ll get a few free add-ons too. The most useful of these if you’re a student is a carry case that has what seems like dozens of pockets. You get a padded compartment for the VX7, a second organizer compartment for your pens, textbooks, or whatever else you’re carrying, a front pouch for your wallet or phone, and even a pocket that looks designed to hold your umbrella!
Even better though is the free wireless mouse that comes with the Notebook – the WX-Lamborghini mouse. This usually retails for nearly $80 and that price starts to make sense when you look at some of the detailing on it. The WX mouse has a sleek angular look, leather side panels, a Lamborghini crest, and the best touch – a rubber scroll wheel designed to look like the Bridgestone rubber you find on the Murcielago.
The free WX-Lamborghini wireless mouse has a tire-inspired rubber scroll wheel
Sounds good? The VX7Sx-DH71 retails for $2329.99 but we’ve seen it as low as $2,099.99 from some retailers. Or, if you love the specs but aren’t a car fan there’s the similarly spec’ed ASUS G74Sx from the Republic of Gamers line-up.
So is the Lamborghini VX7Sx the best yet in the VX Series? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Che bella! That's all we had to say when we first saw the VX7. While the wedge shape of the notebook is not all that far removed from the ASUS G53SW, the lid and rear have been modified to resemble the Lamborghini Murcielago rather than a F117 stealth fighter (as with the G53SW). Instead of a soft-touch matte black lid, the VX7 has a glossy black finish with the Lamborghini logo in the center. As with the car, you'll want to keep a polishing rag handy to maintain the VX7's pristine look. You can also get the lid in orange; given the flashiness of the notebook, we'd choose that option.
Around the back, ASUS has augmented the vents with clear red plastic slots that resemble the taillights on a Lamborghini; it would be far cooler if they were also backlit. The deck of the VX7 has its own styling, too. We love the black leather palm rests, complete with elegant stitching. They not only look fantastic, but are also very comfortable to rest your wrists on.
Other automotive touches include a dark chrome plastic lining around the touchpad and "automobili Lamborghini" written above the keyboard. Even the Power button says "Start Engine." When you turn on the notebook, instead of the generic Windows startup sound, you hear a car revving its engine.
Measuring 15.8 x 12.2 x 1.4-2.2 inches, the VX7 is slightly larger than the G53SW, and, at 8.4 pounds, is 3.2 ounces heavier. Even with the black Lamborghini-accented messenger bag that comes with the VX7, you still wouldn't want to carry it around for long.
Heat
After streaming a Hulu video for 15 minutes at full screen, the Lamborghini VX7 remained cool: The touchpad registered 80 degrees, the space between the G and H keys was 88, and the middle of the underside was 90 degrees. The vents at the rear of the VX7 really do the trick.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Just like the G53, the VX7 has an island-style keyboard that's backlit and comfortable to type on, but it could be better. The keys themselves are nicely spaced and have good travel and feedback, but the right Shift key is undersized, and the number pad and arrow keys are smaller than they have to be. Also, we noticed a bit of flex, similar to the G53.
The 2.75 x 1.75 Synaptics touchpad on the VX7 felt slightly small for a notebook of this size (it's the same size as on the G53), and its mirrored surface had a slight amount of friction, but we were able to execute multitouch gestures easily. The trapezoidal, chromed mouse buttons below were large, and provided snappy feedback.
Display and Audio
With a resolution of 1920 x 1080, the Lamborghini VX7's 15.6-inch glossy display provided bright and crisp visuals. We could pick out individual leaves while playingWorld of Tanks and individual strands of hair when watching the 1080p trailer forHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. However, we did notice a bit of noise in the darker areas of the screen, and colors did appear muted at times.
We liked that we could automatically change the color temperature by pressing the middle button on the upper-left of the deck. However, viewing angles were somewhat limited; images started to reverse at 45 degrees on either side.
The small speakers in the top middle of the VX7's deck produced loud but tinny sound. Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days" and Kanye West's "All Falls Down" had almost no bass. Even when we were playing games, explosions didn't have the chest-thumping boom we were looking for. The THX Trustudio audio manager did little to help.
Ports and Webcam
The left side of the VX7 has a tray-loading Blu-ray drive and two USB 2.0 ports. The right side houses HDMI, one USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0 port, Ethernet, and headphone and mic ports.
The 2-megapixel webcam on the VX7 can take photos at up to 1600 x 1200 pixels and capture video up to 640 x 480. While a little on the grainy side, the webcam picked up details such as the stripes in our shirt as well as a bright orange cup sitting on the desk behind us. Using ASUS' LifeFrame utility, we were able to make fine adjustments to the picture quality, including brightness and contrast, and could even add fun effects, such as a virtual pair of sunglasses or a black eye.
Performance
The computing equivalent of a 572-horsepower V12 engine, the VX7 comes with a quad-core 2.6-GHz Intel Core i7-2630QM processor, 16GB of RAM, and Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M graphics with 3GB of GDDR5 memory. However, the VX7's dual 750GB, 7,200-rpm hard drives made it feel like this machine was filled up with regular unleaded.
On PCMark Vantage, the VX7 scored 7,740, which is about 900 points higher than the desktop replacement average, but the G53SW (which has the same specs, but 8GB of RAM and a single 750GB, 7,200-rpm hard drive) notched a higher 8,470 on the same test. The Alienware M14x (Intel Core i7-2820QM) and the MSI GT680R(Intel Core i7-2630QM) blew past it with scores of 9,293 and 9,184, respectively.
While the VX7 was quick to boot up Windows 7 Ultimate (just 56 seconds), it took the 7,200-rpm hard drive a long 3 minutes and 38 seconds to duplicate a 4.97GB folder of multimedia files. That's a rate of 23.3 MBps, well below the 34.1MBps category average, the 39.1 MBps of the G53SW, and well below the GT680R (62.1MBps).
Graphics and Gaming
The VX7's Nvidia GeForce GTX460M graphics card and 3GB of VRAM powered through the 3DMark06 test with a score of 13,927, which is on a par with the G53SW and the GT680R, and about 5,200 points higher than the desktop replacement category average. The VX7 also outpaced the Alienware M14x's Nvidia GeForce GT555M (12,553). On 3DMark11, the VX7 scored 1,658, which also bested the M14x (1,324), but was below the G53SW (1,825) and the MSI GT680R (1,796).
In World of Warcraft, the VX7 delivered 71 frames per second with effects set to maximum and the resolution at 1920 x 1080. That's 11 fps higher than the category average and the G53SW; the GT680R edged it out slightly (81 fps). The M14x scored 77 fps, but it has a lower screen resolution of 1600 x 900.
In Far Cry 2, the VX7 kicked out 39 fps at its native resolution and effects on Very High. That's a bit above the category average (33 fps), but below the G53SW and the GT680R, both of which saw 55 fps at the same settings at the same resolution. By comparison, the M14x scored 50 fps.
Still, gaming was a blast on the VX7. We averaged 49 frames per second when playing World of Tanks at native resolution and effects jacked up. We could pick out the smallest details, from the foliage on the trees to cobblestone streets to individual treads on our Sherman tank as we rumbled through the boards. Our only regret was that the speakers didn't provide enough low end to really hear the growl of our tank's diesel engine or the boom as we fired our gun.
Battery Life
Like most gaming notebooks (and sportscars), the VX7 is a gas-guzzler. Its eight-cell, 5200-mAh battery lasted 2 hours and 55 minutes, just 5 minutes less than the G53SW. That's slightly better than the category average (2:48), but the VX7's size and weight means it won't be far from an outlet for long. The Alienware M14x lasted a longer 4:11, but it also has a smaller screen to power.
Express Gate Cloud
The VX7 includes ASUS Express Gate Cloud, software that allows users to boot the laptop without using Windows. After pressing the button on the upper left of the keyboard deck, the VX7 launched Express Gate in approximately 15 seconds. Express Gate Cloud features a series of eight sliding tiles (Calendar, Chrome, Game, Music, Online Video, Photo, Social Network) that users can navigate to access the web and a number of entertainment options.
Software
ASUS keeps the software pre-load fairly light on the VX7. Included are ASUS utilities for tweaking the system, such as Power4Gear Hybrid (for adjusting performance settings), and FastBoot (to speed up boot time). Other software includes Cyberlink Blu-ray Disc Suite (for burning discs), Roxio Cineplayer BD (for playing Blu-rays), Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security, and Nuance PDF Reader.
Verdict
The ASUS Automobili Lamborghini VX7 has looks that kill, but even when you factor in the premium for the design, the performance doesn't quite match the $2,269 price. We were a bit disappointed with the lack of bass when playing music and games, and the VX7's keyboard flex gives us some pause. For about $700 less, you can get an ASUS G53SW with the same gaming prowess--but with less storage and no Blu-ray. If you're looking for a true desktop replacement, you can get an Alienware M17x with all the same specs, but with a larger 17-inch display, better audio, and cool backlight customizations for around the same price. Still, gamers who happen to be Lamborghini aficionados will no doubt swoon over the VX7. Just be sure to get the orange lid.
The new Alienware M14x gaming laptop is the successor to Alienware M15x, the now defunct 15-inch laptop option. Sitting between the tiny Alienware M11x and gargantuan M17x, the Alienware M14x offers gaming enthusiasts a middle ground that's easy to drag to a LAN party without compromising on high-end performance.
REVIEW
The new Alienware M14x replaces the Alienware M15x for high-end enthusiast gamers looking for a slightly more portable gaming laptop that continues to deliver uncompromising performance. Sitting between the M11x and M17x, the Alienware M14x is a 14-inch gaming laptop with a widescreen form factor and enough firepower within to bring the latest and greatest games down to their knees. Let’s take a closer look at the Alienware M14x gaming laptop.
Design and Build:
The Alienware M14x sports a unique style and design which if famously synonymous with Alienware machines, be it laptop or desktops. The 14-inch, widescreen laptop’s chassis is made of magnesium alloy and the laptop looks and feels rigidly built with metal almost everywhere (except the glossy screen). But the laptop’s slightly curved spine restricts the screen and chassis’ central hinge to a small section near the centre, giving the screen a slightly flimsy air. Nonetheless, the M14x’s thick, brawny profile with angular edges adds to the premium appeal of the laptop.
With an 8-cell in-built battery, the laptop weighs just about 3 kg -- heavier than most 14-inch laptops -- and it doesn’t win any awards for being slim and trim. But the Alienware M14x is the way it is for a reason and that’s to accommodate all the high-end hardware that sits within. It has huge heat vents along the chassis edge and the screen spans edge-to-edge -- much like an iMac -- which blends in well with the Alienware M14x’s charm. Features:
The new Alienware M14x has a 14-inch widescreen WLED display screen that’s glossy in nature. And unlike most 14-inch laptops that make do with a 1366x768 screen, the M14x’s glossy screen houses a 1600x900 pixel resolution display -- a true 16:9 aspect ratio screen. This enables the M14x to play games at higher resolution resulting in more fun. Its screen has a tiny webcam hole at the top bezel, it’s barely visible but the thing comes in handy if you do a lot of videochats over Skype, Facebook or Google+. The Alienware M14x’s screen is one of the brightest, most vibrant display’s we’ve seen in a laptop for some time -- the brightness and contrast levels are high, colour reproduction very good, and there’s very little motion blur which augers well for high octane gaming.
Alien FX Command Center
The Alienware M14x, like all previous Alienware machines we’ve reviewed, comes with an Alien Command Center software that among other things allows you to customize the gaming laptop’s glowing LED lights in a variety of colours and patterns. You can have just the keyboard split in three different sections with unique light glows, the same for the laptop’s logo and front vents. No other laptop comes anywhere close to offering the array of LED customization options that Alienware M14x does. It adds to the laptop’s overall appeal, no doubt.
Apart from a very good 14-inch display and Alien FX console, the Alienware M14x laptop sports an Intel Core i7-2720QM 2.2 GHz processor, 6 GB of DDR3 RAM, a 320GB hard drive and 1.5 GB Nvidia GeForce GT555M graphics. Quite a potent hardware combination for a laptop. The Alienware M14x has three USB ports, a VGA and HDMI port, 9-in-1 card reader, gigabit ethernet, headphone and mic for connectivity, apart from Wi-Fi 802.11n and Bluetooth for wireless communication. The laptop ships with a 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium operating system. All good but the only minor complaint we have is that the manufacturer should’ve offered more RAM and a larger capacity hard drive with the Alienware M14x at its asking price.
Performance:
The Alienware M14x’s performance is in line with the laptop’s high-end hardware parts. With a PC Mark Vantage score of 9,181 and a 3D Mark 2006 score of 12,556, the Alienware M14x has achieved one of the highest scores among laptops we’ve tested till date. It’s a testimony to the gaming laptop’s high-powered Core i7 processor, oodles of RAM, fast-spinning hard drive and discrete Nvidia graphics. At this level, most of your day-to-day apps will work well and multitasking will be a breeze. Even 3D video editing and high-end graphics rendering applications can run well on the Alienware M14x’s hardware.
Gaming was decent as well — Far Cry 2 at 1600x900, Ultra, 4xAA averaged at 31 fps, while Crysis 2 at 1600x900, Ultra averaged at 22 fps with bit of framing. But importantly, with the Alienware M14x, you will be able to tackle most latest games as and when they release. Not only a contemporary gaming powerhouse, the M14x is also a very good multimedia and entertainment machine, its screen is nice and bright for watching HD 1080p videos, the onboard speakers surprisingly good for pumping out music at acceptable audio levels. As expected, the Alienware M14x’s battery life isn’t great compared to a mainstream 14-inch laptop — just under 90 minutes while looping a music video. But expect between 3 to 3.5 hours of battery backup while browsing the Web on a conservative power plan.
The Alienware M14x gaming laptop sports a backlit keyboard and touchpad. The keyboard has closely packed flat-top keys that are different from isolated, chiclet-styled keys. All the same, the keys are a delight to type on and great to use, day in day out. The keyboard deck has no flex to speak of and every key’s feedback is very good. Even in complete darkness, the keys are visible under a variety of backlighting options. The laptop’s trackpad has an LED strip illuminating along its four edges, and its very good for use -- even while gaming. The trackpad’s two isolated mouse buttons are good to use as well.
Verdict:
The Alienware M14x manages to fill an important gap in Alienware’s mobile gaming offerings, with a laptop that’s easier to carry around than the bulky M17x and performs as well. The laptop has a pretty formidable hardware setup, is very well built, and offers all the regular connectivity features. And of course, none come close to matching the Alienware M14x’s unique aura and charm that is one of its kind. Overall, a very good gaming machine well worth its price.
Total Recorder Professional Edition Main Features:
Record directly in any supported sound format. PCM, MP3, WMA, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, APE and any format provided by a system codec are supported. Professional Edition also provides support for a number of high-quality stereo formats (PCM - up to 192kHz 24bit and float, FLAC - up to 192kHz 24bit, WMA Lossless - up to 96kHz 24bit, and formats provided by the Windows Media Audio Professional codec). For more information, see the Selecting an Optimal Recording Format Tutorial.
Record local audio files or Internet broadcasts reproduced by other programs, such as RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, iTunes, Musicmatch Jukebox, WinAmp, and others. These recordings are performed without the need for special lines for your sound board and without a loss of quality due to redundant conversions from digital to analog to digital. Many additional options are available. For example, you can use accelerated recording to increase the recording speed or you can choose to suppress Internet transmission gaps. For more information, see theRecording an Internet Broadcast Tutorial.
Record any sound passing through any line of your sound card. For example, you can record sound being played back by an external program, or sound from a microphone, an external LP, cassette, CD/DVD player, AM/FM/Satellite radio, etc. For more information, see theRecording from an External Device tutorial.
Background record (i.e. capture) an Internet-broadcast in MP3, WMA and Ogg Vorbis formats. This feature allows you to do the following: – Record Internet broadcasts in their original format without decoding and re-encoding. – Record without using an external player. – Extract track information from a stream. You can also slow down or speed up the playback of an Internet broadcast.
Convert files to any supported format (including on the fly converting while recording). For more information, see the Sound Format Conversion Tutorial.
Edit sound files using a built-in sound editor. This built-in sound editor allows you to cut, trim, and join your recordings. Editing can be performed using a visual representation of the sound or using clipboard operations. All editing functions are performed without decompressing/recompressing to preserve sound quality and save time.
Use thetime shiftfeature to listen to the recorded sound while a recording is being made. While listening, you can move anywhere within the recorded part of the sound stream and start playback.
Split recordings on separate clips. You can indicate that the sound being recorded will be split on separate clips during the recording. File tags can be created automatically.
Split recordings on separate files. You can indicate that the sound being recorded will be split into separate files during recording based on different conditions (size, duration, low sound level, etc.). Splitting an existing recording can also be done. For more information, see the Splitting and Tagging Files Tutorial.
Use Cue-sheet files. Total Recorder lets you create cue-points, which can be used for splitting a file afterwards. These cue-points can be created manually, for example to make a bookmark in a sound file. Or they can be created automatically during a recording session (based on pause reduction, changes of the clip information in an external player, etc.) or while capturing an Internet transmission and information about a track changes.
Create and edit file tags. Total Recorder can work with file tags for any of the supported media formats. Tags can also include artwork.
Play a media file at a slower or faster speed than normal while optionally preserving the original tone.
Schedule playbacks or recordings using Total Recorder's powerful built-in scheduler. For example, you can schedule a recording and use a stop condition such as an absolute time, a duration, the absence of a sound signal, and so on. The scheduler includes many other options. For more information, see Using the Scheduler Tutorial.
Normalize recordings to adjust the level of sound. Normalization of MP3 files is performed without re-encoding or any loss of quality.
Perform general operations on playlists, such as merge multiple files in a playlist, rename files from a playlist using tag information, save a playlist, etc.
Favorites are supported by Total Recorder. Favorites provide a faster and more convenient way to open a file, playlist, or URL. You can organize your Favorites list, use predefined sample links, and export and import Favorites.
Put your computer in standby or hibernate mode when an automatic job completes.
Use add-ons. Total Recorder supports add-ons that can be used for sound enhancements, mixing operations, integration with iTunes/iPod, and for other purposes. Refer to the Add-ons page for information on the add-ons available.
Perform batch processing. You can use batch processing to convert, normalize, split, rename, tag, apply add-ons, or perform other operations on multiple files. For more information, see the Batch Processing Tutorial.
Save an audio file with a different speed than the speed with which it was recorded. This can be useful, for example, when you have recorded a news transmission and you want to listen to the recording at a faster speed.
rial Version
You can download a no-cost evaluation version of Total Recorder Professional Edition. The evaluation copy is a fully functional version of the program with the exception that an audible noise will be inserted about every 60 seconds throughout each recording you make, and you cannot process more than three files during batch processing. For unlimited use of Total Recorder, you must purchase a Total Recorder license.
Updating & Upgrading
Total Recorder Professional Edition Version 8.0 is available free of charge to purchasers of previous versions of the Professional Edition.
For a limited time only, licensed users of Total Recorder Professional Edition can upgrade to the VideoPro Edition for an upgrade fee of $18.00 US. Registered users of the Professional Edition should use this link to purchase the VideoPro Edition at this price.
When you upgrade, the installation of the VideoPro Edition will remove the Professional Edition from your PC. If you evaluate the VideoPro Edition and decide not to purchase it, you must re-install the Professional Edition and specify your Professional Edition registration key. Your registration key for the Professional Edition cannot be used for the VideoPro Edition.
Technical Support
Free and fast technical support is provided even with the no-cost evaluation version of our products. If you encounter a problem that is not listed in either the Total Recorder Help (Troubleshooting section) or in the FAQ, e-mail us at support@highcriteria.com. If you have any suggestions regarding our programs, please do not hesitate to contact us.
System Requirements
Total Recorder Professional Edition requires: a sound card and a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Microsoft Windows XP (SP2 or later), Windows Vista, or Windows 7.
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